Pages

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Trick

"Move it honey!" a voice said gruffly just before Eris was smacked from behind by a rolling garment rack. "I warned you," the petite man said as he continued by her.

She looked around at the commotion all around her trying to get her bearings. There were people crammed into the small space, many women in various states of undress, getting their hair done or cosmetics applied.

Her mind was still a little foggy. She stepped into a corner to try and figure out how she got here. Nothing was making sense.

"You're late," a round woman in all black barked at her. "Put this on and get someone to fix your hair." Eris looked down at the hanger in her hands as the woman pushed her into the nearest chair, on it was a tiny scrap of black fabric decorated with what looked like diamonds.

As someone from behind began running a brush through her long dark hair, a woman began to apply various creams and powders to her face and body. She let them, still unable to shake the cloudiness in her brain.

"You have gorgeous skin, darlin'," the woman applying make-up commented absently. "I hardly need to do anything to you. Not like some of these other girls."

The man playing with Eris' hair added, "I don't even need the extensions for this one."

Eris noticed that the other women sitting in chairs all resembled her: tall, long dark hair, and porcelain skin.

"You're done, you can get dressed over there," the makeup woman pointed to a small area sectioned off by curtains. The walls were emblazoned with the Emily's Treasure logo. Even Eris had heard of Emily's Treasure, it was Aphrodite's favorite brand. Thinking of Aphrodite, Eris remembered where she was just before finding herself here.

She'd been about the leave Hera's palace when Loki, visiting from Valhalla for the Autumn Festival, had called her over to discuss some of his recent pranks. Loki was a master storyteller, so Eris hadn't minded. He'd just refilled her wine goblet when she'd started to feel funny. The very last thing she remembered was his laughing face fading from view.

Loki!

Everyone knew better than to eat or drink anything that the trickster offered them. Eris had thought that since they shared a love for discord and chaos, she was safe.

She'd see that he was banished from Mt. Olympus for this!

She waved a hand expecting to find herself in the Great Hall in a flash. Nothing happened. She snapped her fingers this time. Still nothing. A slight feeling of panic began to creep up her chest. No powers? Was he really that cruel? Yes. Yes, he was.